Opinion: Roadblocks to health care reform
In an opinion piece published in The Hill, Nicholas Sargen, Ph.D., an economic consultant and author, stressed that health care reform should focus on how the health care system can be enhanced to better address the needs of the public it serves. Dr. Sargen said the U.S. health care system currently faces challenges in providing affordable health insurance and controlling medical costs, which have continued to exceed inflation and are rising quicker than consumer prices.
As U.S. patients spend more on health care services each year and while the country lacks universal health care, Dr. Sargen retraced efforts to reform the health care system. In the 1960s, the federal government established Medicare and Medicaid to provide wider coverage to older and impoverished patients. However, these new programs created more demand for health care, thereby raising costs. As a result, in the 1970s, the government introduced an act to allow patients to select their preference of medical delivery system and employees were provided the opportunity to choose managed care programs. Although initially effective at curbing costs, health insurance premiums rose as organizations flipped from non-profit to profit.
In 2010, the Affordable Care Act was passed and has since expanded health care coverage for 45 million U.S. patients. Dr. Sargen emphasized that premiums could again outpace inflation if Congress is unable to extend subsidies enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. He concluded that the federal government may need to play a heavier hand in ensuring that basic health care needs are covered and in determining who is responsible for paying for health care subsidies.
Read more: The Hill
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